Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Lisbon and Durres

For one person, living is cheaper in Durres: $1,128 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index
54

Cost of Living Index in Durres
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Durres Living Index

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Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Durres

🇦🇱 Albania

$1,128

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Lisbon and in Durres

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Lisbon and in Durres actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $2,210 in Lisbon versus $1,128 in Durres.

Lisbon $2,210
Durres $1,128

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,275 in Lisbon versus $1,732 in Durres.

Lisbon $3,275
Durres $1,732

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $4,341 in Lisbon versus $2,336 in Durres.

Lisbon $4,341
Durres $2,336

Living in Lisbon is roughly 96% more expensive than in Durres, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Lisbon is 62% above, Durres is 17% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$16.65 €14.85

$10.48 ALL 851

58.87%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$61.7 €55.1

$37.19 ALL 3,021

66.01%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$11.36 €10.13

$10.37 ALL 842

9.55%

Cappuccino

$2.97 €2.65

$2.07 ALL 168

43.48%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.29 €2.04

$2.12 ALL 172

8.02%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.74 €1.55

$1.07 ALL 87.1

62.62%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.40 €3.04

$3.06 ALL 249

11.11%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 €2.95

$4.44 ALL 360

-25.45%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.16 €1.03

$2.08 ALL 169

-44.23%

White Bread (500g)

$1.91 €1.71

$1.03 ALL 83.6

85.44%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.51 €1.35

$2.29 ALL 186

-34.06%

Eggs

$4.02 €3.59

$3.86 ALL 313

4.15%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$12.94 €11.54

$12.69 ALL 1,031

1.97%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.77 €6.94

$7.78 ALL 632

-0.13%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$17.76 €15.85

$15.02 ALL 1,220

18.24%

Apples (1kg)

$2.30 €2.06

$1.20 ALL 97.6

91.67%

Banana (1kg)

$1.73 €1.55

$2.43 ALL 197

-28.81%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.86 €1.66

$1.56 ALL 126

19.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.59 €2.31

$1.32 ALL 107

96.21%

Potato (1kg)

$1.82 €1.62

$0.90 ALL 73.3

102.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.97 €1.76

$0.95 ALL 77.4

107.37%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.47 €1.31

$1.22 ALL 99.4

20.49%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.72 €0.65

$0.71 ALL 57.6

1.41%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.58 €5.87

$4.43 ALL 360

48.53%

Wine (Bottle)

$5.61 €5.00

$10.99 ALL 893

-48.95%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.36 €1.22

$1.49 ALL 121

-8.72%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.14 €1.91

$2.08 ALL 169

2.88%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$2.33 €2.08

$0.48 ALL 38.60

385.42%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$44.68 €39.86

$19.58 ALL 1,590

128.19%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.85 €3.43

$3.65 ALL 296

5.48%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.07 €0.95

$2.50 ALL 203

-57.20%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.46 €14.69

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.20 €1.96

$2.20 ALL 179

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$34.2K €30.5K

$16.0K ALL 1.3M

113.15%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$38.7K €34.5K

$25.6K ALL 2.1M

51.32%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$161 €144

$90.2 ALL 7,329

78.66%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$18.41 €16.43

$18.02 ALL 1,463

2.16%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$32.74 €29.21

$16.33 ALL 1,326

100.49%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$44.55 €39.74

$41.02 ALL 3,331

8.61%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$19.10 €17.04

$61.3 ALL 4,976

-68.82%

Cinema Ticket

$9.60 €8.56

$7.52 ALL 611

27.66%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$668 €596

$189 ALL 15.3K

253.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.6K €15.7K

$4,673 ALL 379.6K

276.93%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$102 €91.0

$38.78 ALL 3,150

163.07%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$44.46 €39.67

$41.46 ALL 3,367

7.24%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.9

$89.1 ALL 7,235

10.59%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$124 €110

$162 ALL 13.1K

-23.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,608 €1,435

$451 ALL 36.6K

256.97%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,190 €1,062

$321 ALL 26.1K

270.66%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,812 €2,509

$703 ALL 57.1K

299.98%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,013 €1,796

$463 ALL 37.6K

334.81%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,839 €6,994

$1,993 ALL 161.9K

293.25%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,576 €4,082

$1,302 ALL 105.8K

251.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,575 €1,405

$977 ALL 79.3K

61.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.85

5.25

-26.67%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Last update for Durres: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8%

Durres

$321 28.5% 73% $869

Groceries & Markets

Lisbon

$272 12.3%

Durres

$263 23.3% 3.5% $9.6

Eating Out

Lisbon

$243 11%

Durres

$177 15.7% 27.1% $66

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Lisbon

$212 9.6%

Durres

$125 11.1% 41.3% $88

Clothing & Footwear

Lisbon

$166 7.5%

Durres

$149 13.2% 10.2% $17

Sport & Entertainment

Lisbon

$64 2.9%

Durres

$56 5% 12% $7.7

Getting Around

Lisbon

$63 2.9%

Durres

$38 3.3% 40.5% $26

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,608 in Lisbon and $451 in Durres. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Lisbon pays 61% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $62 in Lisbon vs $37 in Durres for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $272 vs $263 per month, with Durres cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🇦🇱 Durres

🕒 Local time

05:27 5:27 AM

06:27 6:27 AM

1 h ahead of Lisbon

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

545,923 Capital

175,110

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Albanian Lek ALL L

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 ALL = 1.23 USD

100 ALL = 1.1 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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Between locations

Lisbon Durres 2,440 km ≈ 3 h 30 min nonstop flight

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Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Lisbon vs Durres: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Durres wins on cost – living expenses run 49% lower than in Lisbon. Housing and daily spending are where you’ll feel the difference most, making Durres the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

Average pay runs 61% higher in Lisbon, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,608 in Lisbon versus $451 in Durres. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

All in, you’ll spend $2,210 per month in Lisbon versus $1,128 in Durres – Durres is about 49% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

A monthly transit pass in Durres runs roughly 56% less than in Lisbon. The price difference matters if you commute daily and watch your budget.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Durres is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Expats usually find Durres gentler on the wallet – expenses run 49% less than in Lisbon. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.